Owned By Fate (18 page)
Authors: Tessa Bailey
Her arms banded around him, pulling him closer, mouth moving across his sweat-dampened skin. “Jonah…it’s so much, you know?”
Jonah knew exactly what she meant. The driving need to get closer to her than humanly possible, the fear of not having her…it exceeded his once impossible hopes to know she felt it, too. They’d both tasted what it felt like to be apart when the need to be close was so great. It would take them a while before the unique sense of panic left. He’d work on her every day until she didn’t have a single worry. Then, and only then, he’d tackle his own.
“Not for us, sweetheart.” Slowly, he turned her over onto her stomach and lifted her hips. In one smooth movement, he filled her, savoring her hoarse moan. “Too much is never enough.”
Epilogue
Jonah had actually built Gabby a park.
Caroline still couldn’t quite figure out how he’d managed to keep it a secret from her over the last two months. While the transformation of
Preston’s
had kept her working far more than Jonah preferred, they shared everything. Except, apparently, a half-a-million-dollars park construction around the corner from where they’d been cohabitating for months. That was Jonah, though. Strong, quiet, and yet brimming with determination. Especially where Caroline and his daughter were concerned.
As they walked hand in hand along the tree-lined street, back toward his Brooklyn house, which he stubbornly referred to as
their
Brooklyn house, Caroline marveled over how much had changed since their televised reunion outside of Serve. That night, all hell had broken loose. Not for them, but for everyone else. They had turned off their phones and stayed locked in Jonah’s bedroom for two days. Suffice it to say, Caroline had gotten an education over the course of forty-eight hours. The kind of education that didn’t come with a diploma to frame above your desk, and she continued to receive it every day. Eagerly.
Caroline hadn’t been the only one to mold into the shape of their unique relationship. Jonah dominated her inside their bedroom, and she wouldn’t have it any other way, but she took her turn in the boardroom. In fact, her confidence strengthened with each passing day, proving once and for all that Jonah’s constant reminder that she held the power was accurate. Their relationship made them better. Knowing they wouldn’t lose each other meant going for broke everywhere else. And boy, had it paid off.
Thanks to a feature story on Serve in the first groundbreaking issue of
Preston’s ReVAMPed
, business had grown to the point that Jonah was considering opening a second location uptown. Caroline was committed to helping every step of the way.
Their biggest challenge had been her father. While Oliver hadn’t stopped laughing for an hour at seeing his once-prudish little sister professing her love to a BDSM club owner on network news, her father had been less than thrilled. Understandable, since he’d long envisioned his daughter having a respectable courtship with an investment banker followed by a tasteful wedding and two grandbabies. He’d gotten something quite different. But just as her father had surprised her by giving his blessing in the boardroom, he’d shown up one afternoon during a scheduled visitation with Gabby, bearing a teddy bear. To which Gabby had said, “Is that for some baby? Because I don’t see any babies ’round here.”
It had been love at first sight.
Seeing the love showered on Gabby from Jonah and her family every two weeks had led Renee to agree to overnight stays twice a month. Tonight would be their first.
They reached the stoop of their brownstone then, Jonah’s stoic expression telling her how nervous he was for the visit. Two-hour visits with Gabby were one thing, but a full night represented a whole new ballgame. Anxious for the chance to comfort him, since Jonah was usually the one comforting her, Caroline draped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. Immediately, his hands went to her hips to pull her closer, the way she craved.
“It’s going to be fine.” She massaged the back of his neck until his eyes closed. “She’s going to adore her new bedroom. We’re going to spoil her and send her home dying to come back. Just like every other time, but longer.”
“I can’t believe she asked for a dragon-themed bedroom.” He shook his head. “After all the pink flowers and princesses I waded through…”
Caroline pressed her forehead against his chest and laughed. “I think our motto with Gabby is ‘Expect the unexpected.’”
“Yeah.” Jonah focused his intensity on her. “I know someone else like that.”
A familiar hunger rippled in her belly. “Last night—”
“Don’t. If we talk about it, I’m going to drag you inside and do it again.”
Caroline laid her lips on top of his. “She has to go to sleep sometime.”
He melded their mouths together in a mind-bending kiss. “I’m counting on it.”
“Good God.” Oliver’s voice interrupted the direction of their thoughts as he approached them on the sidewalk, carrying a fistful of balloons. “I didn’t know you guys made out in public without a camera crew to record it.”
Reluctantly, she stepped away from Jonah. He drew her back into the circle of his arms with a grunt. “Could you let it go, Oliver?”
He pretended to consider it. “Nope. Never.”
Jonah shook his head and laid a kiss on her temple. A moment later, Caroline felt the tension build in his body. Knowing what it meant, she eased away from him and took his hand. The three of them watched, tentative smiles on their faces, as Renee’s station wagon pulled up along the curb. Before Renee had even turned off the engine, Gabby jumped out of the passenger side wearing heart-shaped red sunglasses.
“All right.” She tossed her sandy blond hair over her shoulder. “Let’s do this, Dad. I’ve got rainbow sherbet and a Disney movie with my name on it.”
Oliver burst out laughing beside them, but Jonah merely reached out his hand. “I’ve got something to show you first.”
They all walked to Gabby’s park.
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Acknowledgments
As always, to my husband and daughter, thank you for putting up with me. This book meant lots of trips to the park to get out of my hair, and I appreciated the silence very much. I love you both.
To my editors, Heather Howland and Kari Olson, thank you for all your amazing work and helpful suggestions to make this book the best it could be. Not to mention the beautiful cover, designed by Heather.
To Cari Quinn and Katee Robert for coming up with the particulars of Serve right alongside me and beta-reading the book. Thank you for being just as excited as I was about these characters/ideas.
To Christine Smith for reading an early draft and helping me fine-tune the dominant/submissive relationship between Jonah and Caroline. Your insight was invaluable.
To a certain Greek family who inspired the dynamic/working relationship between Caroline/Oliver/Philip Preston, I won’t mention you by name, but thank you just the same.
About the Author
NYT and USA TODAY bestselling author Tessa Bailey lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and young daughter. When she isn’t writing or reading romance, she enjoys a good argument and thirty-minute recipes.
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